Another theater show? Yes! I had blown my budget on a ticket to see 'Cabaret' at London's Playhouse Theatre! Was I mad? No, I had wanted to see the most recent incarnation of this classic for the longest, I wasn't going to pay those 'Eddie Redmayne' prices! No! Toasting to my last London night, I was ready for that final curtain call! Life is most definitely a cabaret! Sally!
Making moves from Clapham Common saw me make a few connections, knowing those city streets just like the London boy my passport tells the world, I had everything under control! I had not had enough booze to drink before that theater moment, no that was for certain! I needed to change that predicament! For real! Getting my order made at the 'Sherlock Holmes' was easier said than done, doing it like the locals did I brandished my bank card with the quickness! Lubricated with those pre-theatre drinks, I vacated that packed pub for the line that would lead into the mysteriously sounding 'Playhouse Theatre'. I wanted to know why they plastered a sticker over our cameras? I did! So they did just that, I walked down a blackened corridor that was fashioned like no other! Fancy, they had gone and decked it all out! As I walked up the stairs towards my section, I had to pinch myself because I had made that dream a reality! Sure, it was almost 'showtime!' Yes, I made it to the 'Kit Kat Club!' For sure, those pub drinks had kicked in!
I had been briefed to see members of the cast limbering up in the bar areas, so I did see them! It was like no other venue I had ever been to before, the show had not even started yet and I was already more than excited! Even the toilets had an extra red light theme, come to think of it, they were gender neutral! The bar areas impressed me much, I had already consumed my drinks but those other theatre-goers were making the most of the suitably priced hospitality. Real glasses for the theatre? Yes, people were taking whole bottles of wine to their seats! Of course, the experience the previous night definitely looked different compared with the 'Playhouse!' Finding my seat was no joke, those winding stairs saw me passing through a myriad of doors, the signs were all in German! I loved that touch, although I did see English signs it was very atmospheric to feel as if I was in Berlin, Germany! From Clapham Common to Charing Cross, London saw me making more moves! On the with the show they say! Yes, this show really needed to start! Go!
Respecting the strict no photography policy, I gazed phone-free at the view from my centrally placed 'Dress Circle' seat. Upon booking this ticket, I did have several doubts about that ticket generated view of the theater space because the specific 'Cabaret' style setting had me wondering, I wanted the best view for my money! The lights went down low, the orchestra started to play and the rest was history! A young American writer had just left Paris, on his way to what would become 'Nazi Germany', he had no idea that the German contact from the train would potentially get him into hot water! Given the hook up of the century, that intrepid traveler and budding writer practically had the keys to the city, with a rented room in Nollendorfplatz and a table booked at the hottest nightspot, he was loving Berlin life! Sally Bowles wasn't ready for Berlin's newest arrival, neither were here ovaries! It was about to get spicy! Fraulein Schneider, that was his new landlords name! Herr Schultz and fruits! Oh, dear!
Emcee popped up from beneath the stage with the same famous leather shorts on, bringing nothing but debauchery from the very beginning! Proclaiming the boys love to have fun and the girls also do, with whom that really didn't matter because variety was the spice of life at Berlin's Kit Kat Club! The ensemble had me gripped, the choreography was high energy and very suggestive, I wanted to see it all! The costumes were camp and the dance moves were more, I loved every single moment! The love story unfolded with Sally moving her bags into that small room, the writer had another chapter to write! Roped into some shady business by a potential Nazi sympathiser, those cheeky money making trips just weren't worth the coin! Emcee had me wanting more, those dancing boys had me paying attention because they were so beautiful! Money well spent? Yes, every single penny had been worth that ticket price, the experience thus far was second to none! The American had been having fun with the boys and the girls! Scandal!
A marriage proposal? Yes, Herr Schultz proposed to Fraulein Schneider but their merriment was short-lived due to the growing anti-Semitic hate, she had to worry about her own reputation as a friend of the Nazis! It was no joke! Sally found herself pregnant to a man who was more in-love with men, the money that his mother had sent them from the USA had been secretly used for another one of Sally's abortions! Of course, just before the finale she had been given her job back at the Kit Kat Club because customer numbers had plummeted during her absence. No book had been penned, that American author had been much busier making relations of another kind, his pen had not been used for the intended act. This show had me gripped, the interval as not needed because I wanted to see Sally Bowles sing 'Life's A Cabaret' with all of her might! Patience would have to be exercised, I would be able to see that showstopper eventually! Where was I? This show left me wanting more, the interval dragged on! My theater fill was almost over!
Emcee had lost his damn mind? Yes! Things were getting pretty chaotic and those shady characters had outed themselves for all to see! The American gave Sally one more chance but with the abortion revealed, he left for Paris to leave the unfolding madness Berlin and the rest of Germany would be about to experience. Sally took to the stage, belting out that iconic banger! Life is well and truly a bloody Cabaret! Liza Minnelli it did serve! Things happened and they took place, Emcee narrated well but he had to leave us! The finale brought a massive crescendo, there would be no going back! I had loved my time at the Playhouse Theatre and even more! Getting those tickets booked regardless of the price, well it was a no-brainer! I am now in China and right here I don't know where I am going to find my next theater show? Yes! London really had much for me to be thankful for, I loved that show! That superb theater show left me feeling great, resetting those East London settings, I needed to take the Docklands Light Railway! Bye!
Cabaret DONE!
Desperately Seeking Adventure
